Quaker Oats sued in US for using carcinogenic weed killer

Quaker Oats is being sued for $5million by a man who claims they use a dangerous weed killer during production. The breakfast cereal product is reported to contain glyphosate, an active ingredient in the world's most widely used herbicide, Roundup, developed by Monsanto.

Lewis Daly from Brooklyn, New York, has filed a lawsuit against the company, saying their advertising is ''false, deceptive and misleading''.

He says the carcinogenic substance, glyphosate, is used to grow the oats and is sprayed on them during harvest.

The chemical, he says, undermines the Chicago-based firm's claim their products are ''100 per cent'' Natural, the New York Post reports.

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide which the World Health Organization declared as ''probably carcinogenic to humans'' in 2015. It has been linked to a number of cancers, including breast, thyroid, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder and myeloid leukaemia.

As well as using the chemical as a weed killer in growing the oats, more ''is sprayed on the oats as a drying agent shortly before harvest'', claims Daly in his Brooklyn federal court lawsuit.

In April, a new series of tests by the Alliance for Natural Health-USA has revealed popular breakfast foods, including eggs, bagels, whole wheat bread and coffee creamers contain ''alarming'' levels of a widely-used agricultural herbicide.

Ten of the 24 foods - both organic and regular - tested contained traceable levels of glyphosate.

It is the active ingredient in the world's most widely used herbicide, Roundup, developed by Monsanto and first released in 1974.

Increasing scientific studies point to glyphosate residues being ubiquitous in the environment, raising fears it could be common in foods.

Glyphosate and its analogs are known endocrine disrupters for humans.